The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-08-29

STATE STREET CHURCH,

Rev. Henry NJ. King, d. D., of Albany
N. Y, preached from the pulpit of the State
Street Church yesterday, taking for his text
the sixth, seventh and eighth verses of the
sixth chapter of the first epistle of Paul to
Timothy-"But godliness with contentment
is great gain. For we brought nothing into
this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. And having food and raiment
let us be Herewith content"
He said: "Class preaching is apt to be
Improbable preaching. / mean preaching
that is based upon social and class distinc-
tions, and has its special and particular APP.
plication to the high or the low, the rich OF
the poor, the educated or the uneducated.
1.-The pulpit is not bar for the arraign-
nent or the defence of this man or of that
or of this class or of that class; like Chris.
tianity itself it is the friend of all classes
and seeks not to call attention to or empha-
size social distinctions, but as far as possible
to ignore them and to heal them, and the
ideal congregation is the one in which the
rich and poor meet together, and the Lord is
the maker of them ALL The things thai
unite us are more and mightier than the
things that separate US, and the unity of the
race is a grander truth than the fact of social
distinctions. All class preaching needs to
be done with great wisdom and carefulness,
lest it give offence, create unnecessary dis
content, magnify wicked and foolish preju-
dices, and do more harm than good. 1.-The
poor We have with you always" The poor,
however, are not always the same poor, and
the rich are not always the same rich. For
tunately for us in this country estates are
curtailed rather than entaied, and the
wheel of fortune, as it is called, is con-
stantly in motion, and sometimes its revolu-
tions are exceedingly rapid. The rich of to-
day, for the most part, were the poor of
yesterday, and the proletaire of today may
be the millionaire of tomorrow.
II have no faith in the statement which is
often made by the professed friends of labor
and made for the purpose of alarm in these
days of agitation, that while the rich are
growing richer, the poor are growing poorer.
is that wealth, comfort, education, every
thing that money can buy, were never SO
widely diffused as they are today; that labor
never brought in better returns; that the
homes OF the poor were never better sup
piled; that the general life of the people was
never so rich in blessings as now. OF course
speak generally. There are still many
cases OF oppression and hardship, and cruel
wrong. There is still suffering enough and
the need of patient endurance and rigid
are still burdens heavy to be borne, that call
for Christian sympathy and the thoughtful
ministry of ten thousand good Samaritans.
But the general state of home life and social
lie has reached point of material comfort
which it has never touched before And the
man who says otherwise is an alarmist or
political demagogue. The condition of the
savings banks throughout the country with
the rapidly increasing list of depositors, the
increased ownership OF homes, and the ever
increasing sale of the luxuries, as well as the
comforts of life, all go to prove what have
said.
l"The second remark woald make is this,
that every situation in life has its advan-
tageS and disadvantages, so called, and the
great moral and spiritual results of life can
regardless OF their environment, no matter
what the circumstances, in which in the
providence of God they are placed.
There is no straight road from Egypt to
the Land of Promise. There is no smooth
and gentle stream flowing through life, from
earth to heaven. with no cross currents, no
adverse winds, no white capped pillows, no
hidden rocks on which precious freight NAV
be wrecked. There is no perfect climate in
which alone health may be preserved and
life brought to strength and maturity. We
may long for the gentle and salubrious at
mosphere of Florida and Southern Califor-
mia, but men in Russia and Greenland man
age to live and die of good old age.
lie has abundance who finds in what he
has the satisfaction of reasonable desire.
But power, wealth, so called prosperity,
inevitably bring corresponding responsible
ties and unlock the gates of tremendous
temptation, Increasing worldly prosperity
Is often the increasing load that breaks the
back and brushes the joy out of the SOUL so
that it longs for the quiet comfort of other
days.
at is an old adage, Uneasy lies the head
that wears crown, the crown of power,
the crown Of wealth, the crown of princely
prosperity"